325i New Battery- $400 am I being ripped off

I have a 2006 325i that apparently needs a battery, the dealer offered me a replacement around $400, of course this is not covered by warranty. I've been told that the battery is massive, that it will need to be registered? I've called around a couple of places from the magazine and have gotten quotes from $270 to $149 my question are why is the battery so expensive and does it have to be registered and what exactly does that mean?? Help!!

I have a 2006 325i that apparently needs a battery, the dealer offered me a replacement around $400, of course this is not covered by warranty. I've been told that the battery is massive, that it will need to be registered? I've called around a couple of places from the magazine and have gotten quotes from $270 to $149 my question are why is the battery so expensive and does it have to be registered and what exactly does that mean?? Help!!

Per the dealer there is some sort of registration that goes with the battery, anyone aware of that?

As a DIY BMW guy and a reasonably educated scientist type, I don't know anything about battery registration but, as a lawyer, I do know quite a bit about bulls**t. This sounds a lot more like bulls**t to me.

Per the dealer there is some sort of registration that goes with the battery, anyone aware of that?

I replaced the battery on my E90 earlier this year. The car didn't care less. Ask them in an e-mail for "more detail" on their statement, and then post it back here along with the dealership name. The BMWNA list price for your battery is around $180.

I will say that it was the most painful battery install I've ever had to do however. There is a "bunch of crap" attached in various strange ways to the top of the battery, so it unattaching/reattaching all that junk along with keeping it held out of the way while extracting/installing the battery wasn't enjoyable. Even an experienced tech will take at least 20min to swap out the battery properly.

It's Tischer BMW and I'm actually working on getting a response from them regarding the specifics of "registration". As an idiot, I thought it meant something to do with the computer of the car, and like when it tells you stuff like time for service, that somehow this "registration" ties it into their systems. I was told that the tech was giving me a deal at $400 including the time to "register" the battery which would take around 2.5 hours.

I've already called around and Martin's Auto Service has given me a quote of $159.95 including installation. I just wanted to be sure that I was getting someone with previous BMW knowledge working on the car, and Martin's has around 26 years working on BMW and should clearly know what they're doing.

I feel like an idiot and I'm ashamed that a company like Tischer could be so unscruplous if in fact it's not necessary to charge that much, disgusting.

I've done a little online research and apparently it's some sort of programming that needs to be done once the battery is installed to make sure it syncs with the electrical system and all other online systems. Does that make sense? and wouldn't any one with prior BMW experience know to do this? or is it optional?

Dag, I understand what an awesome piece of machinery this is but noone ever told me how complicated simple things or correction not simple things would be.

I'm not sure it applies to the E90? Like I said, I installed a new battery on my E90 330i with no issues at all (about 12k miles ago now). By the way, get the P/N for the battery and go to Tischer's web site, www.getbmwparts.com, and plug it in. You'll be able to see their discounted price and the BMWNA list price.

I've already called around and Martin's Auto Service has given me a quote of $159.95 including installation. I just wanted to be sure that I was getting someone with previous BMW knowledge working on the car, and Martin's has around 26 years working on BMW and should clearly know what they're doing.

I feel like an idiot and I'm ashamed that a company like Tischer could be so unscruplous if in fact it's not necessary to charge that much, disgusting.

I will post any response I get from them. Thanks a lot.

See, that's why women get taken advantage of more often. Shame at not knowing and fear of objecting to something. Don't be ashamed or afraid. I just fearlessly pound my fist on the table and say "BS!" Then, after they convince me how I'm wrong, I get to apologize.

The other stunt they'll pull is assuming you're too dumb to understand. Don't buy that. Go after them for explanations. "Whaddya mean, 'register' my battery? Why should the American Kennel Club be involved in it?" See how much fun this can be? After the laughter dies down, you can ask for a real explanation.

My wife, who had proudly changed the brakes on our very rare '61 DeSoto, was used to ignorant dealer personnel telling her, "They didn't make those after 1959." when she'd look for parts. Sorry, guys, but we were driving a '61 and it wasn't imaginary or anything at all like the '59. They might think they know everything, but sometimes, they don't. Other times, they're just trying to charge what the traffic will bear. I think Jaguar wanted something over $300 for a battery for our X-Type. I paid about $135 for it at a local auto parts store and installed it myself (quite easily).

Feel free to ask here. Even if we don't know the answer, we'll make up something that sounds so convincing that your dealership will be amazed.

thanks for all the feedback, there is one thing to being a novice and another to being a complete idot. I might be a woman but not a dumb one, and I just can't justify spending $400 for something that could reasonable cost $200 and these dealers should be ashamed of themselves. They emotionally tie you into this "you need to have the dealer work on your car and when you do then they try to stick it to you, just not right

but thanks for all the feedback and I'll know tomorrow after I see Dan

There really is a process where they register the battery, at least on some models of bmw (such as my 530i e60), it mainly lets the computer know the age of the battery and confirms the type of battery (deep cycle, agm, standard, etc). Apparently the cars are smart enough to adjust the charge to the battery based on its age, type, and load variables so it doesnt over or under charge it. This is supposed to increase the life of the battery.

In many e60 owners experience, as long as you replace the battery with one that has the exact same spec's (same type, same cold cranking amps, vent tube, etc) you dont need to pay the stealer for the registration. Your battery may die a little sooner since the age variable is no longer valid, but you can buy 4 regular batteries for the price of 1 BMW battery with registration hehe.

pantherfan69 thank you that article was great. I'm actually having the work done at
Martin's Auto Service and he does have the scan tool plus 30 years of BMW experience and it's costing less than $200. I feel my membership in the club pays for itself everytime I have to search for information with the wealth of great info I get back.

I still feel that as consumers we really need to band together and do something with these dealers who charge over and above the normal and usual charge, I undertand it's about making money but good grief do they have to take you to the cleaners? I mean I want to maintain my car, I got the extended warranty etc., and I'd like the dealer to do the work, I understand these cars are not your run of the mill cars, but if going to the dealer is going to be that much more expensive then they've lost my business. You know it they'd said $250 I'd have had it done, but $400 in the ballpark which meant it could have been more, well if being a female give the assumption of being dumb might be so, but ain't supid.

I recently purchase a Bentley manual for me E92. It talks about connecting a BMW scan tool or equivalent after installing a new battery. This is to notify vehicle power management (software in the engine electronics) that a new battery has been installed. It states further that without proper registration CAS, whatever that is, and vehicle power management will not run properly and this can lead to function limitations such as a reduction or deactivation of consumer functions. It says during battery registration current mileage is stored, stored values from old battery are deleted, and power management is initalized.

I don't know what any of this means, but it would seem to allow the dealer to add a significant labor charge to the cost of the battery. The windows, sunroof, etc. also have to be reprogrammed, but this is easy and can be done by anyone.

I would look for an independent who could perform the scan and try to get a Interstate battery.
Good luck and keep us posted.
GELSO

I recently purchase a Bentley manual for me E92. It talks about connecting a BMW scan tool or equivalent after installing a new battery. This is to notify vehicle power management (software in the engine electronics) that a new battery has been installed. It states further that without proper registration CAS, whatever that is, and vehicle power management will not run properly and this can lead to function limitations such as a reduction or deactivation of consumer functions. It says during battery registration current mileage is stored, stored values from old battery are deleted, and power management is initalized.

I don't know what any of this means, but it would seem to allow the dealer to add a significant labor charge to the cost of the battery. The windows, sunroof, etc. also have to be reprogrammed, but this is easy and can be done by anyone.

I would look for an independent who could perform the scan and try to get a Interstate battery.
Good luck and keep us posted.
GELSO

In any case, please check back with the continuing saga of yer battery. I am amazed at what cars' computer systems do these days.

I guess I am glad my Z4 has a little less technology: The battery kept going flat after I bought it with 3,000 miles on it. I said I thought the battery ought to last a little longer than that, and danged if my dealer didn't agree! New battery via the warranty. I was dumbfounded.

Satch Carlson

"The first failure of communication is the belief that any is taking place."

That vehicle has Group 49 battery and could either be Advanced Glass Mat (AGM) or not. AGM technology(which simply means it has a longer reserve capacity) is utilized on modern BMW's because of all of the technology that stresses the battery through utilizing its stored energy. AGM batteries are also more stable then the aging lead technology. The AGM battery retails for something like $250ish, the nonAGM group 49 retails for something like $150ish. Interstate sells drop ins for both of these and are called an H6 or a H6A(AGM) but arn't going to be a whole lot cheaper if at all. And whomever posted about proper battery registration.....good post. This is correct, the battery does have to be registered with the vehicle so that it will continue to be charged correctly. The vehicle has a Micro Power Module(MPM) that keeps up with the batteries lifespan. For example, we had a 2006 645 in the shop today that had had a battery replaced a couple of months ago and not properly registered, the vehicle was flashing in the cluster that the battery was failing. The battery was still good but not getting charged correctly. Registering the battery and recharging the battery corrected the issue. Additionally there were multiple faults in other systems related to the voltage issue.

I am not going to speculate on what the dealer was charging for, I am certainly not a fan of the BMW Dealer network but an hour would have been fair for all that has to be done in a proper battery replacement on this vehicle. If you would like to try a qualified BMW specialist in the Independent arena, try www.bimrs.org for a potential shop near you.